


Shield Me

by Camteen17



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 03:34:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17480360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Camteen17/pseuds/Camteen17
Summary: Prompto didn't think his life could get any worse. His best friend was sucked into the crystal they were supposed to recover, eternal night has fallen over the world, and his fellow brethren have gone their separate ways. What else could go wrong?





	Shield Me

Prompto can't believe what he's been through in the past few years. His best friend had been pulled inside a crystal, the very same one they were supposed to recover and bring back to Insomnia. An eternal night has settled over all of Eos, thus making hunts more frequent and more dangerous.

While Prompto can't complain about the extra gil from the difficult hunts, he can complain that he often doesn't have adequate assistance with the aforementioned deamons. It's been months since he's seen either of his two remaining comrades. Ignis had moved to Lestallum to help with the electricity planning, and Gladio seems to jump from outpost to outpost never staying in one place for more than a few days. Prompto found solace in Hammerhead, working on automotives and technology alongside Cindy.

Prompto didn't think his life could get any worse. The blonde seemed to have misfortune and misery follow him everywhere. He had hit rock bottom, but it could only go up from here, right?

"Hey there Prom" a voice broke Prompto from his self wallowing.

"Oh, uhhh, hey there Cindy" he replied.

"I caught wind of some news you might be itchin to hear"

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"Both of your old buds, the wall o muscle and the fancy one, are on their way here. Heard somethin about reconnectin" Cindy said placing a hand on her hip.

"Really? Geez, it's been forever since since I've seen them" Prompto said with with a fond smile.

Memories of old times came flooding back into Prompto's mind. The times spent at havens telling stories of life before Insomnia's fall. The nights spent in a caravan playing King's Knight. Even the celebrations after completeing some of the more difficult hunts.

All of these memories, of course brought more, but these were ones Prompto wishes he wouldn't remember. They plague his mind, and eat away at however he's feeling until he's either too numb to feel anything, or feels too many things and breaks down.

Thoughts of Noctis and him always going to the arcade after school, of Ignis making everyone a homecooked meals when the cold months came around, and Gladio being there for him whem he needed support, both physically and emotionally.

Gladio

That is a name that brings memories best left forgotten as well. It was no secret, at least not to Noctis, that Prompto had fallen for his muscle head of a royal bodyguard. However, due to the chain of events leading them to set out on the road, and the events up till now, Prompto decided it would be best if he kept how he felt to himself.

So, Prompto tries his best to quell those feelings and put on his best smile. Prompto knew he could trust Cindy, but still, he doesn't want to burden someone with something so stupid. She smiles back and then returns her attention to the engine she's been working on.

Prompto tries to regain focus and continue fiddling with the blaster in front of him, but hearing Gladio was coming made him loose any sort of concentration. He excused himself and went to the caravan to calm down.

The more he tried to shake away the thoughts, the stronger they became. The way Gladio always managed to make him feel better about his body. The way Gladio's body seemed to fit perfectly alongside his in the tent when they would camp. And the way Gladio's muscles were always amazing to watch, whether it was in battle, or he was just doing his own workout, the way the sunlight and the sweat highlighted his physique was something Prompto could never quite capture no matter how many pictures he took.

Prompto doesn't know how long he spent reminiscing, but a knock at the caravan door brought him back to reality. He sighed, it was probably Takka, asking him to either fetch more ingredients, or go take care of a hunt.

"What is it this time?" he said with a sigh as he swung the door open.

"And here I thought you'd be happy to see us"

The voice alone made him freeze. He didn't know that they were going to be bere this soon. He stares at the two men before him and is just in awe. Ignis is still dressed impeccably, his hair is styled and he still has that sense of regality. Gladio though, had changed. He let his hair grow out more, and had resorted to wearing a tank top, probably due to the never ending night being pretty damn cold. He started to freak out a bit because he probably looked like he just crawled through the inside of a car engine.

"How ya been blondie?"

"I've been surviving, I suppose" he replied rubbing the back of his head.

"It's great to hear your voice. It's like a light throughout the expansive darkness. A nice familiarity" Ignis adds with a smile.

"Great to see you Ignis. I've missed you both" Prompto said with a sigh.

"Well, we gonna stand here all night or catch up? Cause I got some stories" Gladio said motioning to Takka's Pit Stop.

"Sounds good to me. Takka has given me a discount for life since I've helped out on quite a few hunts" I mention with a chuckle.

"I'd love to hear about them. I have also been quite busy, the power plant is no walk in the park either" Ignis adds.

"Well of course not, but if anyone can make heads or tails of how to improve a situation, it's you Iggy" Prompto replies placing his hand on Ignis' shoulder.

The crew doesn't get more than two feet in the door before Takka calls to them. He's happy to see them together again and tells them that whatever they want, it's half off.

The group places their orders and sits in a booth. Ignis and Gladio take one half, leaving Prompto having the other half to himself. It reminded him of old times, Noct was right beside him and they would laugh about something that had happened either earlier that day or some inside joke they had between each other.

"So, Promp, I gotta ask, have you shacked up with Cindy yet?"

Prompto almost choked on air. Whatever he expected Gladio to ask first, that wasn't it. He feels his cheeks start to burn as he knows his cheeks are flushed from embarassment.

"Gladiolus Amicitia. We haven't seen each other in months, and that's how you start the conversation?"

"What? Just want to know if our little chocobo is as innocent as he was when we last saw him"

"Who says I was innocent then?" Prompto whispered.

As soon as the words left his lips, he wished he could take them back, but it was too late. Both of the other men shot their attention towards Prompto after his statement. Both seemed equally shocked, but Gladio seemed to have something a little extra in his gaze.

"Well, then..... How...... How have the hunts been?" Ignis says, trying to change the subject.

Gladio seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in and resorted to leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. If Prompto didn't know any better, he would think Gladio was angry, or maybe pouting.

"The hunts have been okay. Mostly Voreteeth and Arba's. Every now and then I get a few Coerls and even had to take down a Behemoth once, though I had some hunter back up for that one" Prompto says, rubbing the back of his neck.

The rest of the night was spent catching up, and trying to resolve the tension in the air. Prompto isn't sure why, but he feels like Gladio is mad at him.

"You guys wanna stay in the caravan?"

"Would that be alright?" Ignis asked.

"Of course. I can sleep in the garage. I have a bed set up in there because sometimes I'm too tired to walk all the way back to the RV" Prompto says with a smile.

Gladio and Ignis bid him a good night as they shut the door behind them. As soon as the door is shut, Prompto drops his smile. He is kicking himself for not telling them about the incident in Zegnautus. He is mad at himself for not saying that he had actually tried with Cindy, but they both felt it didn't feel right.

He feels like maybe if he had explained that, then maybe Gladio wouldn't be mad at him. Maybe they wouldn't have parted for tonight with such a weird tension between them.

"Oh, come on Prom, you can't honestly think he would want you like that"

That voice. That sickeningly disgusting gravely voice. Prompto recognized it instantly and it made him freeze right where he stood. The world seemed to slow around him and the color seemed to fade.

"Come now, surely you can't be that naive. You and I both know why no one would want you like that. You're used, and what does one do with used parts? They dispose of them"

"Shut up"

"Does the truth hurt? Does it hurt to hear that the reason Gladio left you is because he knows you're used and now you're worthless. Does it hurt to know that I'm the one who took everything away, and yet after all this time, you still can't lay a finger on me?"

Tears came to Prompto's eyes. Somehow, Ardyn had found out exactly what Prompto had been thinking in the recesses of his mind. The events of Zegnautus replaying over and over like a horrible nightmare he can't wake up from. The feeling of having his innocence stripped from him even through the screaming and pleading for it to stop. The whole event was never something he could fully recover from. Prompto sank to his knees as the tears started pouring from his eyes.

"Prompto?"

"Go away...... Please"

A hand clamped down on his shoulder. He looked up to find Gladio standing over him, concern in his eyes. Prompto returned his gaze to the floor and tried to stop his tears.

"Prom..... What happened?"

"It was nothing...." Prompto sniffs, wiping his eyes.

"Bullshit. Tell me what's wrong"

"I can't. I just can't" Prompto said getting up and starting to walk away.

"Hey! I'm not letting this go, or you" Gladio said, his voice as firm as his grip.

Prompto turned to face him, but seeing the concern in Gladio's eyes broke him. He didn't want to tell him, but he could feel himself breaking. He slowly fell to his knees, weakly trying to break away from Gladio, while wimpering for him to let go.

"Prompto. I'm here. Please tell me"

Prompto just kept sniffling, trying to stop, but couldn't. Eventually he figured he might as well say something before Gladio made him look at him again.

"Ardyn"

He felt Gladio's grip tighten. He cautiously stole a glance upwards and saw Gladio's face filled with rage. Prompto was terrified and tried to break free of Gladio's hold.

"What the fuck did he do? What did he say? Tell me!"

"Gladio, stop. You're hurting me. Please, let me go" Prompto pleaded, feeling Gladio's hand around his wrist squeeze.

"Tell me! What did that bastard say!?"

"Gladio, please. It hurts!"

This seemed to snap Gladio out of his rage. He released his grip on Prompto and watched as his tried to soothe the pain in his wrist. Immediate guilt flooded over Gladio, but he was so pissed off that he wasn't thinking straight.

"Prompto please tell me what he did"

"Gladio, please.... Let it go" Prompto pleaded, tears once again streaming down his face.

"Prom, I'm here to help. Please, I need to know" Gladio pleaded.

"I can't. I can't. You'll leave me again" Prompto sobbed.

"No, I won't. I promise whatever it is, I won't leave"

Prompto continued shaking his head, repeating the same things over and over. Combinations of the phrase let it go, or I can't.

Prompto suddenly felt two hands on either side of his face, lifting his gaze to meet Gladio's. He didn't get a chance to protest before he felt something against his lips. It took a second to realize that Gladio's own lips were covering his. When Gladio pulled away, he made sure he looked directly at Prompto.

"Why?"

"I had to find a way to shut you up. And, I wanted to prove to you that I'm here to stay" Gladio responded.

"Gladio....."

"Please, tell me what happened"

Prompto couldn't take it anymore. He launched himself into Gladio and wrapped his arms around the well built man's torso. He had already cried so much tonight, but this was definitely the hardest he had ever cried. The tears were a non-stop torrent, streaming down his cheeks.

"He.... He....." Prompto tried, not able to get much further.

"Shhhhh. It's okay, I'm right here." Gladio said, running his hands through the soft yellow locks beneath him.

They sat like that for a while, until Prompto had officially cried himself out of tears. Then, Prompto unlatched his arms and stared straight up at Gladio. Gladio looked down at the vulnerable blonde below him and the sight broke his heart.

"He, he said that if you knew about my past, you'd leave me. He said I'm just used parts and that once you found that out, you'd dispose of me"

"Used parts? What is that supposed to mean?"

"What he did in Zegnautus. When you guys were rescuing me. I.... He....." Prompto found himself unable to finish the statement.

It took a while, but eventually Gladio picked up on what Prompto was trying to say. Needless to say, Gladio was seething with rage.

"That son of a bitch! I'll kill him!!"

"He said that if you knew, you'd never want anything to do with me. That you would just get rid of me like everyone else does with used parts"

"Prom, you're not used parts. You're still as beautiful as you were before I knew. You're always beautiful, and I will never think otherwise" Gladio said, bringing his free hand to cup Prompto's face.

Prompto leaned into his touch, almost humming with need. He needed Gladio, needed him to be there. He can't do it on his own, not anymore.

Gladio leaned in and pressed his lips to Prompto's again. When Prompto didn't kiss back, Gladio began to worry. He opened is eyes to see Prompto's eyes were closed. He broke the kiss to ask the blonde if he went too far, but didn't when the loss of contact resulted in a whimper from the smaller man.

"C'mon, let's get you too bed. You look like you're about to pass out" Gladio said, picking up Prompto as he stood, bringing him into a bridal style carry.

"Thank you, Gladio" Prompto whispered, burrowing himself into the wall of muscle.

Gladio set Prompto down on the bed in the spare room of the garage, and made sure the blonde was comfortable. Upon trying to leave, he felt a hand latch onto his wrist. He turned around to see violet eyes staring at him, pleading for him not to leave.

Gladio caved and climbed into bed with the blonde, wrapping an arm protectively around his midsection. As long as Gladio was around, Prompto would be safe, he was a shield after all.

After a while, Gladio awoke from a sleep he wasn't sure he entered, to find that it was still quite early in the morning. He went to snuggle into Prompto again, when something caught him off guard. The usually bright yellow locks of hair were now a deep burgundy with a fedora resting atop them.

Gladio felt rage engulf him as he grabbed the new form next to him by the neck. Now awake, Gladio could identify the man as Ardyn without a doubt. Ardyn was struggling to breathe, clawing at Gladio's hand.

Gladio, standing up, lifted Ardyn off the bed as well, and threw him to the ground. Ardyn looked up in horror as Gladio slowly approached him with nothing but rage filling his eyes.

"Gladio!? What did I do!?" Ardyn cried out, in between coughs.

"Don't ever use that name with me. You are absolutely disgusting. You don't deserve to breathe" Gladio stated, now looming over his prey.

"Do you really feel that way?" Ardyn asked, sounding as if he was on the verge of tears.

"Of course!! You are the whole reason my life is hell! You deserve to rot for all eternity. You're the reason my dad and all of Lucis is dead. You're the reason Noctis is trapped in the crystal. It's all your fault!" Gladio spit.

Without any warning. Gladio sent his foot flying down to meet Ardyn's face, but when Ardyn rolled to the side, his foot connected with concrete. This didn't stop the raging shield as he continued to try and stomp/kick Ardyn to death, most of his attacks just barely missing. The few that connected sent Ardyn reeling for a good few seconds, obviously knocking the wind out of him.

Gladio had enough of this, and put his boot on Ardyn's chest, stopping him from moving. He dropped to his knees, and put his hands over the chancellor's throat. Gladio started to apply pressure, enjoying the gurgling sounds the man beneath him made.

"Gladio!"

Suddenly, Gladio was on his back. He heard gasping, and knew that whoever had called his name was the reason that piece of trash was still alive. Ignis appeared over Gladio, face showing nothing but anger.

"Ignis what the hell!? He was almost dead!"

"That's what I'm concerned about! Why were you trying to strangle Prompto!?"

Gladio stopped what he was about to say and looked over. His heart imediately dropped and his stomach bottomed out. Ignis was right.

Prompto was trying to stand, trying to catch his breath through his coughing fit, eyes wide in fear staring straight at him. Gladio tried to call his name, but Prompto immediately dropped to the ground and huddled into a ball, tears once again pouring down his face.

"Gladio! Answer me!"

Gladio couldn't form words. The thoughts of everything he had done in the past few minute came back to him. The words he had said to Prompto, even if he didn't direct them towards the blonde. The way every insult confirmed a fear the blonde had, and undid all of what Gladio had said previously in the night. Not to mention that he almost KILLED Prompto. That neck that he enjoyed squeezing so much, had belonged to the person who meant so much to him.

He could only stare in horror as Prompto ran in terror away from him once Gladio tried to stand. Gladio tried running after him, but Ignis delivered another kick to Gladio's mid section, sending him right on his ass. He looked up and stared at Ignis who only sighed and ran off after the distressed Blonde.

Gladio sat on the cold hard concrete, curling his fingers, remembering the feeling of Prompto's struggling beneath him. Then something struck him, and it absolutely broke him. Prompto never struck him in retaliation, or even in self defense. He didn't strike Gladio in any way, even when he was being stangled.

All he did was flail and try to pry his hands away. Never once did he kick Gladio, or attempt to punch him. He still, even after what Gladio had said, and it was obvious the gunner was in danger, refused to strike him. This absolutely floored Gladio, as he realized just how much their opinions of him mattered.

"Hey Muscles, we need ya!"

He looked up to see Cindy, panting. She had been running, to find him it would seem. He loomed up curiously, but was caught off guard, when the lady in front of him started to drag him.

"Prompto's not actin' like himself. He is on top of the shop roof and refuses to come down. Me and that fancy one tried darn near everythin' to get him to come down"

"What do you think I can do about it?" Gladio got to his feet and started running with Cindy.

"Beats me. Fancy one said you might know a thing or two 'bout why he's like this" Cindy said,

He saw Prompto on the roof and his world went silent. The rest of the world faded from view as Prompto paced back and forth atop the hammer head stop n shop roof.

"Prompto, please, talk to me" Ignis called out.

"I can't. Please, just, leave me alone"

Prompto saw Gladio and instantly he froze. His eyes zeroing in on the person who tried to kill him. He tried to back away from Gladio's direction causing his foot slipped on the metal roofing and he soon felt himself free falling.

"PROM!!"

Prompto expected the landing to hurt a lot more. He expected more crunches from his bones breaking. He had always thought of hearing some sort of squish from a body exploding on impact. Instead it felt like someone was cradling him.

He opened his eyes to see Amber ones staring straight back at his. He might feel a little better if there wasn't some anger lingering in his gaze.

"Gladio, please put him down. While we thank you for catching him, I'm sure you're not exactly number one right now" Ignis orders.

Gladio does as instructed and sets Prompto on the ground. Prompto is quick to scurry over to Cindy, clinging to her as if he would die if he let go. She takes Prompto into the store, out of sight.

Ignis walks up to Gladio and demands to hear an entire account of what happened that night. Gladio decides it's best to tell Ignis everything, and goes over all of what happened. At the end, Galdio just watches as Ignis stares at him with an unreadable expression.

"I see" Ignis says after what feels like an eternity.

It would have been funny, had it not been for the circumstances. Gladio just waited for Ignis to say something else, hoping for some clarification on how he should feel. Unfortunately, Ignis only walked toward where Cindy had taken Prompto.

"I'm going to try and calm our friend, you just stay out of trouble" Ignis says befire disappearing as well.

Gladio does as instructed and leaves Ignis alone to do what he does best, diffuse a tense situation. As much as Gladio tries to keep his mind off of Prompto, it doesn't do any good. As soon as Ignis is gone, Gladio starts to think about the face Prompto made when he saw him in the crowd.

The absolute horror and betrayal in those beautiful almost violet eyes. The tears that Gladio had sworn to never let touch Prompto's face again. The shreik of terror he made when his foot slipped, which Gladio can still hear ringing in his ears.

Eventually, Ignis comes back out with Cindy next to him, both wasting no time, heading straight for him. He was scared to hear what they had to say. What if Prompto never wanted to see him again? Gladio couldn't really hold it against him.

"You're lucky, Gladio. Prompto was willing to believe what I told him, and has agreed to see you. He wants to hear it all from you, just to confirm that's what actually happened. He is still very shaken up and wouldn't let me touch him. So please, keep your distance" Ignis instructed.

Gladio nodded and rose to his feet. He exhaled and started to slowly make his way towards the room Prompto was in. To say his stomach was knotting and his head was pounding would be understatements.

Gladio opened the door, and part of him wished he hadn't. He saw Prompto, looking worse than he ever had before. There were bruises on his arms, and an obvious hand primt around his neck. Tears streamed down his face and pooled on the floor before him. And while his body shook with sobs, when he looked up at Gladio, it looked like all life had been drained from his eyes.

"Prompto" Gladio said, with a sigh.

Upon hearing his name, he shrunk in on himself. Prompto flinched and that again, felt like a stab in the gut to Gladio.

"G...Gladio" Prompto managed to choke out.

"I.... He....." Gladio started, trying to find the right words.

"Gladio, it's okay. It was Ardyn, right?" Prompto choked out.

Gladio tried to hold back his tears, he really did. But Prompto had no right to forgive him. He had all but killed Prompto by strangling him, after promising to protect him. This man is willing to forgive him when he has every right to be pissed off or scared. One final look into those blue-violet eyes and Gladio could no longer hold back the tears.

"I'm sorry, Prom. I'm so fucking sorry! I woke up but I saw him instead of you. I though he had done something to you, and that made me see nothing but red. Prompto, I almost killed you, and I went back on my word, and yet, you sit here telling me it's okay. How can you do that!? You should be yelling at me! Hitting me! Something!!" Gladio said, his voice rising in volume.

"Gladio, what would that solve? Me getting mad at you for something you didn't know was happening isn't fair to you. It's going to take me a while not to flinch around you, but me running like I did was because I didn't know if you still saw me as him or not"

"Prom...."

"It isn't the first time he's made me look like him, and almost got me killed. Remember the train to Tenebrae?"

Gladio remembered it all to well. It was the event that led him to notice his feelings for the lithe gun man. The thought of Prompto being dead, or captured by Ardyn left him unable to function properly until Ignis had talked him back into reality.

"Prom, I have to ask. When I was..... Attacking you....... Why didn't you fight back? Why didn't you punch me? Kick me? Do anything?"

"I honestly thought that you had thought all those things you said about me. I tried clawing at first, but when you said those first few words, all my will to fight left me. I figured 'if he really doesn't want you, you might as well let him end you because no one else will' so I just accepted that I would be better off dead". Prompto said casting his gaze to the floor.

Gladio rushed over to Prompto and caused the younger man let out a yelp. Gladio pulled Prompto against him, careful enough not to make him feel suffocated, but tight enough to try and make him feel protected. After a second or two, Prompto wrapped his own arms around Gladio and tried his hardest to push himself closer to Gladio.

"Prompto, know that I will never forgive myself for the way I acted and I know you may never fully trust me again, but I will always do my best to reassure you that you matter. You matter so much to me, Iggy, Cindy, and sleeping beauty. Prom, you are so much more than you give yourself credit for, and I wish you would see that" Gladio said, running his fingers through blonde locks, trying to calm the now shaking man clinging to him.

It seemed to work, because the shaking stopped soon after. But Gladio also noticed Prompto's grip on him had lessened and quickly brought an arm to hold the blonde against his chest. His head fell backwards and Gladio saw Prompto's eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly open.

Gladiolus couldn't hold himself back, and planted a kiss on the unconsciouss gunman's forehead. He stirred, but didn't wake up, so Gladiolus took him into his arms and proceeded to walk out of the room towards the caravan. He knew that when Prompto awoke, he would feel more relaxed seeing Ignis with him.

He knocked on the door, hoping that Ignis was actually inside, instead of somewhere else. He didn't have to speculate for long because the door opened revealing a sweat disheveled Ignis. Gladiolus wasted no time getting both him, and the unconscious man in him arms, inside.

"Gladiolus, you didn't injure him further, did you?"

"No. Ignis, he just passed out. I didn't want him to wake up in that dingy little room, so I thought bringing him here was the best option"

"I see. Alright then, set him down on the bed."

Gladio followed as instructed and gently set the blonde down on the mattress. He made sure to make him as comfortable as possible before leaving. When Gladio had released his hold on the blonde, he heard a slight whine. He looked at Ignis who just nodded his head and began to busy himself in the trailor's kitchenette.

Gladiolus climbed in the bed behind Prompto, wrapping his arms around the smaller man's waist. He noticed Prompto snuggling into him until his back was against Gladio's stomach. Gladiolus leaned his head in, kissing the back of his neck softly, earning a slight shudder and a groan. Gladiolus just sighed as he began to close his own eyes, realizing just how tired he was after the night's events.

Before succumbing to sleep though, Gladio had one thought racing through his mind. He wanted to make good on his word and would make sure he did everything in his power to keep the blonde currently in his arms, safe from harm. Even if that meant sacrificing himself.

Ya here that blondie? You don't have to be scared anymore. I'm here and I promise that as long as I'm around, nothing will harm you ever again.


End file.
